Although the spectacle of influencers flaunting their affluence has long been a staple of social media, there are signs that audiences are growing tired of it. Experts say “influencer fatigue” is wearing on young people who crave authenticity as inflation rises and achieving a stable livelihood becomes increasingly difficult.

According to data from a YPulse study shared with Yahoo News, 45% of people between the ages of 13 and 22 say influencers just don’t have the same power that they used to. About 53% said they were more likely to trust recommendations from regular people online whom they don’t know rather than creators with large followings.

Influencer marketing once offered an alternative to typical celebrity marketing. Celebrities appeal to us as salespeople because of the psychological phenomenon known as the halo effect. If someone is talented or beautiful, we assume they are highly qualified in other ways as well, which boosts sales. Influencers, who are powerful but not conventionally famous, offered a more relatable and accessible alternative. They’re far enough removed from celebrities that we can relate to them — until we can’t.

  • sigmaklimgrindset
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    3 months ago

    The “Halo Effect” has been a known psychological phenomenon since 1907 researched by uh…Wells and someone else who I can’t remember.

    I don’t want to rain on your cranky old man parade, but unless you’re 100+ years old I don’t think it was ever just “being a gullible dumbass”, it’s very much a known societal bias that has been leveraged by the advertising industry. Don’t think you’re immune to it just because you think you’re “above it”.

    • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I was trying to be humorous lol. I know that it’s a common bias, but just being aware of it and how it’s not based in reality is enough to not act on it.

      I’m not 100+ years old (though it can feel like it some mornings), but people have been aware of the phenomenon and the insidious exploitation of it for a long while and